


Green Eyes and Blonde Hair

by tayrulez



Series: Mentalist Droplist [1]
Category: The Mentalist
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-13 13:21:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18469792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tayrulez/pseuds/tayrulez
Summary: The CBI visits a very familiar place on a case that leaves Jane and Lisbon questioning their pasts. Noncanon, sorry.





	Green Eyes and Blonde Hair

Jane, Cho, and Rigsby are playing a game of seated basketball, using wadded pieces of paper and anything to be used as a basket. Lisbon watches them having fun from the comforts of her office and Van Pelt laughs along with Harold, the mail boy on break, from a safe distance. Hightower soon comes in and everything drops. Harold continues on with his work and the girls join the guys. The boss hands Cho a file, showing they have a new case.

 

"Where to?" Rigsby asks.

 

"St. Georgia's Village."

 

"We're going to Georgia?" He asks in a perplexed tone.

 

"It's in Southern California." Jane and Lisbon remark uneasily.

 

Hightower raises an eyebrow but decides she doesn't want to know. She holds her hands up and walks away. Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt pile into one SUV; Jane and Lisbon in the other. The case is a twenty-five-year-old man, still a kid really, shot and strangled. He was left for dead behind an old, rusty barn.

 

"When were you at St. Georgia's?" Jane gently asks.

 

"I was a kid."

 

"Yeah." He sighs. "Me too."

 

She glances to him for a moment. He doesn't notice. Instead, he's staring out the window as the cities pass slowly. Lisbon turns back to the road and lightly grips the wheel. She swallows hard then speaks again after about a half hour of silence.

 

"I was only there from a few months before a turned fourteen till I turned eighteen."

 

"Hmm." He nods, contemplating something in his mind. "After your dad died?"

 

She twitches. "Yes."

 

"I was here 'cause of the carnival when I was eight. When we were halfway across the country, when I was sixteen, I came back on my own. Had to get away from it all."

 

The rest of the ride grows silent. Jane continues staring out the window and Lisbon continues to glance to him ever so often. In the other car, van Pelt drives. Rigsby is jamming to his iPod and Cho is reading some novel. Sometime later, Lisbon and Jane arrive. The others are caught in traffic, but the sheriff walks up to them immediately. He stares at the two for a moment then shakes his head.

 

"Daniel's over here."

 

Lisbon stares at the small town in front of her. It has hardly changed and she hadn't been here in nearly twenty-five years. That old church is rusting inside out, like it's always been. I wonder if that bell still chimes on the hour. I can hear the stream, smell of nature. I hope I don't run into Jasmine or Coach McEntire. That would just complicate things to no end. Oh, what is going on in Jane's mind? He's not like himself.

 

Jane stares at the ground as he and Lisbon follow the officer to the boy. _Damn, this place hasn't changed a bit. I wonder if that girl I was with. I wonder if she still lives here. What was her name? Damn! I can't remember much about that year. Damn therapy. Why did I even need therapy? I know what happened. I came here looking for Jasmine; met someone else and. there's something else there._

 

The duo arrives at the barn. Jane eyes the kid, recognizing he was strangled after he was shot; he was probably already near death anyway. He shifts the barn door open a bit and looks around the inside. Lisbon follows as he wanders into a back room beneath a loft. Memories flash through his mind.

 

_I. I remember, shirtless. we were making out, under the hay. no, it was more. there were a few drinks, but we weren't too drunk. we knew what we were doing. How old was I? Sixteen? Seventeen? Sixteen, I'm sure of it. Who was that?_

 

Lisbon starts to recall her own memories in the room.

 

_I'm in there, with Jasmine. I'm fourteen, having. she's delivering and I am squelching in pain. where is he? I've asked and asked but all she says is with his father. screw his father! I need him here, with me! Who the hell was he? Why can't I remember?_

 

The two government officials back away quickly. The other agents have finally arrived and Jane briefs them without making eye contact with anyone. The officer groans inwardly and then asks who is coming with him to the station and who is going to be speaking with Daniel's family.

 

"What'd you say his last name was, again?" Jane asks since he continuously faded out the words.

 

"Cellario."

 

Jane's mind pauses, attempting to remember what that name means to him. It obviously means something to Lisbon, too. Her eyes widen and she opens her mouth to say something. Jane beats her to it, remembering the name.

 

"They can talk to the family." He gestures to the junior agents. "Where's that station?"

 

"Follow me."

 

Lisbon looks up to her consultant with a quizzical glance. He lets out a long breath, finishing with a small smile. She smiles back with a twinge in the back of her head. Something's not right.

**Author's Note:**

> I no longer ship Jane and Lisbon, so don't ask if this will continue.


End file.
